Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happy Iraq Day

Walter Isaacson is pushed hard by Moyers and finally admits, “We
didn’t question our sources enough.” But why? Isaacson notes there was
“almost a patriotism police” after 9/11 and when the network showed
civilian casualties it would get phone calls from advertisers and the
administration and “big people in corporations were calling up and
saying, ‘You’re being anti-American here.’”

Moyers then mentions that Isaacson had sent a memo to staff, leaked to the Washington Post,
in which he declared, “It seems perverse to focus too much on the
casualties or hardship in Afghanistan” and ordered them to balance any
such images with reminders of 9/11. Moyers also asserts that editors at
the Panama City (Fla.) News-Herald received an order from
above, “Do not use photos on Page 1A showing civilian casualties. Our
sister paper has done so and received hundreds and hundreds of
threatening emails.”

And the lesson is, a responsible media executive who receives marching orders from his corporate sponsors should always go along to get along. There will be plenty of time to say "oops" later. The important thing is that everyone continues to see you as a responsible person.